Even the Score

by Beth Ehemann

  Without saying anything, I nodded and squeezed Becca tight. Surprised by how much bigger she felt, another wave of sadness washed over me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d picked her up in my arms like that. My kids were growing up, and I was so busy trying to provide a nice life for them, I hadn’t bothered to actually be a part of their lives.

  As the last inning played out, I stood quietly, rocking Becca in my arms. After the coach took the boys to the outfield and gave them their postgame speech, they all packed up their things and filed out of the dugout. Logan, moving at a snail’s pace, thrust his glove into his bat bag angrily. His coach, who was waiting for him at the dugout entrance, noticed and started to walk toward him.

  “I got him,” I called out. Coach Rogers nodded and patted Logan’s shoulder before he turned and left the dugout also.

  I set Becca on the ground. “Will you take her to the car? We’ll be there in a minute,” I said to Gloria.

  She nodded and took Becca’s hand, leading her toward the parking lot.

  As I turned back to the dugout, Logan was stomping past me.

  “Hold on a minute, champ, I want to talk to you.” I gently grabbed his shoulder.

  “Don’t touch me,” he yelled as he yanked his shoulder away from me dramatically. “And don’t call me champ. How would you know if I was a champ? You weren’t here!” His eyes filled with tears and his voice cracked as he yelled.

  “I know I let you down, buddy, and I’m so sorry. My work—”

  “Your work is always more important,” he interrupted. Unable to hold the tears back anymore, he let them spill freely from his eyes. Seeing my son cry because of something I’d done, or hadn’t done, gutted me. I wrapped my arm around his head and pulled him tight against my side, half expecting him to resist, but he didn’t. Instead he just rested his head against me, tucked up under my arm, and sobbed. I swallowed a huge lump in my throat and waited a couple of minutes for him to let it all out. Once his shoulders stop shaking and I heard him sniff, I walked the two of us over to the bleachers.

  “I am so sorry, Logan. I have no excuse, I just forgot. Work has my head all foggy and the important things are slipping through the cracks.” The lump in my throat that I’d already swallowed returned, but this time it was twice the size. “I feel horrible.”

  Logan sniffed again and nodded without saying anything as he wiped his nose on his sleeve.

  “I talked to Uncle Brody today, and he had a great idea to bring in some help. Someone to help me make deals and check out some college prospects so that I can be home more. What do you think of that?”

  He lifted his head and looked straight at me, blinking as his wet eyelashes stuck together. “Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  His two giant front teeth peeked out from between his lips and a small grin followed. “I think that would be awesome.”

  “I think that would be awesome, too.” I returned his smile as I pulled him tight against me. “What do ya say we go home and order some pizza? Maybe catch last week’s episode of American Ninja Warrior?”

  “That sounds fun, but Gloria made a meatloaf when we got home from the zoo.” He scrunched his nose up and stuck his tongue out as he made a fake gagging noise.

  “Meatloaf?” I copied his expression. “Gross! Here’s the plan: when we get home, you distract her somewhere far away from the kitchen while I hide the meatloaf and order pizza.”

  “Mozz sticks, too?” He beamed.

  “Duh.” I held my fist up to him . . . and breathed a sigh of relief when he bumped it back.

  CHAPTER 4

  Andy

  Two weeks passed, and word had gotten out that I was going to be taking on another agent. The response to the news was overwhelming, to say the least. We were getting so many e-mails sent to us every day, our server nearly crashed . . . twice. The tough part was weeding out the recent college graduates who had no experience but thought it would be cool to hang with athletes.

  Because of the chaos of the work stuff and still feeling guilty about the issue with Logan even though I hadn’t missed one game since that night, I decided to sneak out of work early on Friday and take Brody up on his offer to take the kids up to the lake for the weekend. It was a quick hour-and-a-half drive from our house, and Becca and Logan were beyond excited to see their friends. While I was looking forward to hanging with my kids, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t just as giddy for the stick-to-your-ribs, home-cooked meals from Sophia, Brody’s mother-in-law. That woman was a force to be reckoned with in the kitchen, and luckily for Brody, she’d passed a lot of those skills down to Brody’s wife, Kacie.

  We pulled into the driveway of Brody and Kacie’s house, and before I even put the car in park, the kids were scrambling to get out.

  “Whoa! Whoa!” I called out, trying not to laugh. “Can you please wait to open the door until I’ve stopped the car? Trust me, the ER isn’t a fun place to spend a weekend.”

  I parked the car, and our weekend at the lake officially began.

  Brody and Kacie had built a huge house for their small pink army on the same property but about a hundred yards away from the Cranberry Inn, her mom’s bed-and-breakfast. And when I say they built a huge house, I mean huge house. It was a five-bedroom, five-bath farmhouse-looking monstrosity with a lake just beyond its massive backyard. The kids and I grabbed our bags from the trunk and climbed the white, wooden steps to their porch. I lifted my hand to ring the bell, but before I could push the button, Becca opened the door and sailed right past me like she owned the place.

  “Becca!” I called from the porch.

  Kacie laughed as she walked toward the front door, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Oh, come on in.” She waved at me. “Family doesn’t have to ring the bell. Right, baby?” She bent down and scooped Becca up in her arms.

  Becca wrapped her arms and legs around Kacie like a spider monkey. As Logan ran past them toward the back of the house, Emma—Brody and Kacie’s four-year-old—started running to her mom but froze when she saw me. “Hello. Good-bye.” She giggled as she disappeared toward the back of the house again.

  “How are you, pretty girl? I’ve missed you so much,” Kacie said as she gave Becca a big squeeze.

  “I lost another tooth!” Becca opened her mouth wide and pointed to the gap where her top front tooth used to be.

  Kacie’s eyebrows shot up as she eagerly peeked into Becca’s mouth. “Wow! Look at that! Did you put it under your pillow for the tooth fairy?”

  Becca’s face fell. “I did, but she didn’t come.”

  “She didn’t?” Kacie stuck her bottom lip out and shot me a quick glare.

  “Well, she did, but not till the next day. My tooth fell out on a Saturday, and Daddy said she probably doesn’t work weekends.”

  “Oh, I see.” Kacie pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. “Well, your daddy’s probably right. Even fairies need a day off here and there, huh?”

  Becca nodded and wiggled to get down. As she ran off toward the sound of the other giggling kids, Kacie looked at me and shook her head.

  “What?” I shrugged innocently.

  “She probably doesn’t work on weekends?” she repeated sarcastically, chuckling as she came over and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  “What was I supposed to tell her?” I bent down and quickly kissed her back. “That the tooth fairy had one beer too many and fell asleep watching SportsCenter? It was easier to say she had the weekend off.”

  Kacie rolled her eyes playfully. “Men.”

  “What about men? You talking about how amazing we are?” Brody puffed his chest out as he strutted into the room, carrying their clapping toddler, Grace, in his arms.

  Cocking her hip to the side and crossing her arms over her chest, Kacie looked over at Brody. “Andy was just telling me how the tooth fairy isn’t the most reliable over at his house.”

  “Actually, Becca was telling her,” I corrected her with a laugh. “She r
atted me out.”

  “Happens to the best of us,” Brody said as he walked over and shook my hand. “Glad you decided to come up, brother.”

  “Me too. I needed a break from the office.” I sighed. “And from life in general.”

  Brody pointed toward the black bag that was slung over my shoulder. “What’s that then?”

  I shrugged. “I brought a little work with me just in case, but I’m hoping for an excuse not to do it.”

  “Excuse number one: get your ass out on the deck and help me grill dinner.” Brody laughed as he handed the copper-headed toddler over to Kacie. Grace, who hadn’t taken her green eyes off me since Brody carried her into the room, crinkled up her little nose as she grinned and continued clapping her little hands together.

  “She looks just like you, Kacie.” I reached out and gently rubbed her chubby cheek with my finger.

  Kacie looked down at Grace. “You think so? Sometimes I think yes, then others I think she looks just like Brody.”

  “Oh no, she’s way too cute to look like Brody,” I joked, quickly bracing for the punch that I saw coming from Brody out of the corner of my eye. It landed square on my upper arm with a thud.

  Half an hour later Logan and Becca had wasted no time getting in the lake with Lucy and Piper, Brody’s ten-year-old stepdaughters, while Brody worked his magic at the grill and I watched.

  “I can’t believe you live here,” I said incredulously, shaking my head as I stared out over the relaxing lake.

  Brody peeked up at me as he adjusted the burners on the grill, then stood up and followed my gaze out to the water. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? Kinda like coming home to paradise at the end of a long day.” He clapped his hand against my shoulder and went back to messing with the temperature on the grill.

  Turning my attention from the water to the two dozen beef patties that were cooking on the rack, I pulled my eyebrows in tight. “Why are you making so many burgers, anyway? Are Kacie’s parents coming over for dinner, too?”

  Just then, as if on cue, the sliding door opened and Viper stepped out onto the deck, throwing his hands up in the air. “I’m here, bitches! The party can officially begin!”

  I stared at him with a deadpan expression on my face. “Holy shit. There goes the weekend.”

  Brody let out a loud laugh. “Sorry I didn’t tell you. We weren’t even sure until a couple hours ago that they were gonna make it.”

  Viper, whose real name was Lawrence Finkle, was not only a client like Brody but also one of my good friends. He was also a little on the crazy side, like Brody but much louder. He also had one of the biggest hearts of anyone I knew.

  He rushed over and picked me up in a bear hug, pinning my arms to my sides. “You know you’re excited to see me, Shaw. Don’t try to hide it.” As he set me down, he planted a sloppy kiss on my cheek.

  I wiped my face with the back of my hand and laughed. “I’m always happy to see you, Viper, as long as it isn’t on the news or in handcuffs.”

  “Are you guys done making out yet?” Michelle, Viper’s wife, quipped as she stepped out onto the deck.

  “Seriously.” Viper took a step back, glaring at me playfully. “I can’t keep this guy off me. I told you, Andy, I’m a happily married man now. You and I are over!” He put his arm around Michelle’s shoulders as he leaned down and kissed their sleeping son’s forehead.

  I looked over at Brody and rolled my eyes. “Maybe I will hide in my room and work all weekend, after all.”

  “Uh-uh!” Viper shook his head vehemently. “There is absolutely no w-word this weekend. If I sense you even thinking about work, I’ll pick your ass up over my shoulder and throw you in the lake.”

  My eyes darted from Viper to Brody, who just shrugged.

  “He’s probably not kidding.” Brody laughed.

  “Wow! There are a lot of kids here,” Kacie exclaimed as she stepped out onto the deck and looked around the yard. “Let’s see . . . our four, Viper and Michelle’s three, and Andy’s two . . . wow! What a fun weekend.”

  “Is this the first time we’ve had everyone together?” Michelle asked, swaying back and forth gently.

  “I think so. Definitely the first time since that little chubbo was born. Here, Auntie Kacie’s turn . . .” She reached over and took Michael from Michelle’s arms.

  “Babe, he was sleeping,” Brody complained.

  “And he still is, babe.” She playfully stuck her tongue out at him. “That’s the best thing about newborns, they’re just like little purses. You can take them anywhere and do anything with them, and they always sleep.” Reaching down, she nuzzled her nose into Michael’s pink cheek.

  “He’s two months old already. Doesn’t feel like a newborn to me anymore,” Michelle said, staring down at him sadly as she smoothed a few crazy hairs on his head.

  “Anything that doesn’t sass back or whine about the outfit you’ve chosen for her that day feels like a newborn to me,” Kacie joked. She put her face close to him again and inhaled deeply. “Plus he still has that fresh-from-the-factory smell. If only they could bottle that scent. It’s intoxicating.”

  “Uh-oh.” I laughed, slapping Brody on the shoulder. “She’s got that look in her eye, buddy. Better put an addition on this house.”

  Kacie’s head snapped up, and her eyes were huge. “Oh, no way! He’s cute and all, but my uterus has a No Vacancy sign hanging from it, and it’s going to stay there for a while. I’ll just keep borrowing other people’s babies for now.”

  “Well, we know that I can’t have any more.” Michelle shook her head. “Looks like it’s your turn, Andy.”

  All eyes shifted to me.

  My eyes widened as I stared back at them, my eyes moving from face to face quickly. “Uh . . .” I stammered, thinking of how to change the subject. “Who’s ready to eat?!”

  After dinner and another hour or so in the lake, all of the kids except for Michael and Grace had passed out in Brody and Kacie’s huge basement as they watched Frozen. I went down to peek at Becca and Logan, tiptoeing over the bodies lying side by side on the floor like sardines. It really was an awesome feeling to have my kids sleeping in the same room with all of my best friends’ kids.

  Kacie was sitting in the front living room with Michelle, who was nursing Michael, while Brody and Viper were in the garage playing with Brody’s new ATV. Knowing the mound of work that would be waiting for me next week if I didn’t at least peek at some of the résumés that had come in, I decided to take my chances with Viper’s warning and grab my work bag from the guest room.

  I’d been through four résumés and made a few notes on them before I heard Viper bellow, “What the hell are you doing?”

  I looked up just in time to see Brody slap him on the back of the head. “Shhh!”

  Viper flinched and whispered, “Sorry. Forgot there are eight thousand kids here.”

  “I’m not working, I’m just . . . looking.”

  Viper sat down at the kitchen table with me as Brody walked to the fridge and took out three beers, sliding two to me and Viper as he cracked his own open.

  “Looking, huh? Looking at what?” Viper reached over and snagged one of the résumés. “Seth Tanner,” he read aloud. “Majored in sports management at University of Wisconsin–Madison. Has three years of experience with Brilliance Sports and four years’ experience with GWA Sports Management Group. Likes long walks on the beach, karaoke, and cunnilingus.”

  Brody tried to cover his mouth as he coughed but instead sprayed beer through his fingers, sprinkling some of the papers.

  “Would you give me that?” I snatched the paper from Viper as Brody, still in the midst of a coughing fit, ran to the kitchen sink to wash his hands.

  “Holy shit. That was hilarious,” Brody whooped. “But I don’t know if I should be proud or worried that you even know what the word cunnilingus actually means.”

  “Know what it means?” Viper linked his fingers behind his head and smirked. “I invented the damn wo
rd. Right, babe?” he hollered into the living room.

  “What?” Michelle called back, clueless as to what we were talking about.

  “Never mind,” Viper answered. He rested his elbows on the table and looked down at my stack of papers again. “What the hell is all that, anyway? Why are you looking at résumés?”

  “I’m surprised Brody didn’t fill you in.” I glanced toward the sink out of the corner of my eye. “He’s so damn proud of his idea that he brings it up every chance he gets.”

  Brody sat back down at the table and sighed. “It’s because I’m a damn genius. You should be paying me for coming up with it.”

  “Anyway”—I rolled my eyes and looked back at Viper—“I’m bringing another agent into the firm. It’s just growing too big for me to handle all by myself.”

  Viper’s cheeks puffed out, and he squeezed his lips together as he tried to contain his laugh. “That’s what she said.”

  Brody started laughing so hard that his head fell to the table and his shoulders shook.

  “Holy crap. I just now realized that you two are a couple of seven-year-olds.” I sighed while also trying not to laugh.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll be serious this time, I promise.” Viper tugged on his chin as though to pull his face straight. “Not to make Brody’s head any bigger than it already is, but I really do think it’s a great idea. Then you can get out of the office and get laid more—I mean spend more time with your kids.”

  By this point, Brody was practically hyperventilating from the alcohol-induced fit of laughter.

  “Getting laid would be fantastic—my always-horny, immature friend—but I’m not really a one-night-stand kind of guy, and I barely have time to spend with my kids, let alone date, so for now my dick is growing cobwebs, and that’s okay.”

  Viper lifted his hands up and down in the air rigidly, like a robot. “I. Do. Not. Compute. Not. Having. One. Night. Stands.”

  “Oh, shut it.” I wadded up a damp napkin and threw it at him. “You haven’t had a one-night stand in a couple years. Now you’re a pussy-whipped husband just like him.” I pointed with my thumb over at Brody.